Irish Examiner - 12th November 2004

The best weigh to go

Now two dress sizes smaller, Colette Sheridan says her new diet has definitely put a spring in her step

If I had been told five weeks ago that I would be off bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, cheese, fruit and alcohol for at least 10 weeks, I’d have scoffed and said ‘impossible’.  But the impossible has happened and halfway through the rather strict Novo anti-Candida diet, my energy levels have soared and I have lost 21 pounds and dropped two dress sizes.  Not bad going for someone who normally never lasts on a diet for more than three days.

Losing weight does wonders for your confidence and puts a spring in your step.  And no, I didn’t have to undertake excruciatingly boring workouts in the gym.  It’s all down to the diet I’m following, coupled with 20 minute walks most days.  (I should be doing more exercise for general well-being but I can only suffer so much and am naturally indolent).

Analysing for Candida (a major cause of increased gut porosity) is a standard part of the Novo programme, but you don’t have to have the condition to follow the more general Novo programme.

ENERGY HIT:  Novo can help you lose weight while also gaining energy.  It rejects calorie restriction or avoidance of whole food groups, concentrating instead on the avoidance of specific foods that trigger an inflammatory response by the immune system, leading to an increase in weight and a decrease in energy.  Different foods trigger an inflammatory response in different people. 

Your individual Novo programme – a result of 115 foods being tested against your blood sample – is constructed from foods that do not activate your immune system.  Foods that lead to an inflammatory reaction release a series of chemicals that directly interfere with the supply of energy to your muscles.  In turn, this leads to tiredness and hunger and an increase in stored, but, ultimately, unusable fat.  Avoiding all the foodstuffs that cause the inflammatory response allows your body to reverse this series of knock-on effects. Consequently, you gain more energy from what you eat, feel full for longer, burn more fat and store less.

FOOD WISE:  Novo involves taking blood from participants, which is sent to a laboratory in Holland for analysis. The analysis against the 115 foods takes 75 minutes – which is why Novo, at €500, doesn’t come cheap.  A bespoke eating programme and ongoing support is then provided.  Dieters simply need to stick to the allowed foods on the diet list and eat as much as they need and they will feel better and lose weight.

As Novo expert Julie Reed-Harte says: “Instead of using all your energy to try and digest foods, you’re getting the energy from the food.  The fat you were previously unable to burn caused inflammation in your stomach.  On the Novo diet, you burn your fat more efficiently.  If you don’t need to lose weight, you won’t.  The idea is to have healthy digestion and to feel good.”

When Waterford-born model, 23-year-old Emma Power, went on the diet, she swapped lettuce and apples for chips and chocolate and lost 11 pounds in six weeks.  She says Novo is the perfect way to lose weight in the run up to Christmas.  “Unlike nearly all other diets, it doesn’t interfere with eating out,” says Emma.  “I used to dread going out to restaurants.  If I was cutting back on carbs, that ruled out Italian restaurants, while cutting down on fats ruled out nearly all the rest.  Sacrificing a glass of wine for a few weeks is worth it if you can enjoy a two-course meal, including dessert.”

WINNING FORMULA:  Dr Joe Curry, who looks after the medical needs of the Irish under 17 soccer team, is a supporter of the Novo programme and says that it is scientific.  “I lost about half a stone on the Novo diet over four months.  That’s all I needed to lose.  It improved my energy levels enormously,” he says.

When you have completed the Novo programme, Julie says you can introduce other foods, one at a time, every three days, and see your reaction to them.  “You will become aware of how your body is responding to foods.”

Novo plans to test more foods than the present 115 types.  “The plan is to produce individual packs to suit different countries because diets vary around the world,” says Julie.

For more information on Novo, see www.immogenics.com or call 0818 240 424